Where to relive India’s most epic love stories

These palaces and forts hold secrets of many royal romances

Once upon a time, a talking parrot told a handsome young king of a princess with flawless beauty. He heard of her honey-toned skin and kohl-lined eyes and fell in love. He travelled across the kingdoms, won her over and the two would have lived happily ever after. But a sultan besotted by the queen waged war and killed the king. The queen immolated herself, and thus their love met its fate.

Many ballads tell this story of Rani Padmini also known as Padmavati and the Rajput king Rawal Ratan Singh. But India’s palaces and forts hold hundreds of stories of love, longing and loss. Here are a few:

Rani RoopmatiandSultan Baz Bahadur; Mandu, Madhya Pradesh

Rani Roopmati Pavilion, Mandu. Photo: IndiaPictures/ Getty Images

A regular Hindu girl who went on to become the Queen of Malwa after her marriage to Sultan Baz Bahadur, Rani Roopmati was the one with the golden voice. The sultan, a lover of music and poetry, couldn’t help but fall in love. The two bonded over the arts until emperor Akbar sent his general Adam Khan to conquer Mandu. Baz Bahadur was assassinated. Stories say that Adam Khan even killed Roopmati’s brothers when she fled to them for help. On realising there was no escape, she asked Adam Khan for three days before she married him. Before the day would dawn, she swallowed poison from a diamond ring.

The Rani Roopmati pavilion in the palace of Mandu near Indore in Madhya Pradesh is known to offer a magnificient view of the town. The queen who was said to be a great devotee of the river Narmada and would pray at the Rewa Kund located close to her pavilion.

Peshwa Bajirao and Mastani;Shaniwar Wada, Pune, Maharashtra

Shaniwar Wada. Photo: RBB/Getty Images

When the great Peshwa fell in love with Bundelkhand‘s MaharajaChhatrasal and his Persian-Muslim wife Ruhaani Bai’s daughter, all hell broke loose. The Marathas refused to accept her as his legally wedded wife. The palace of Shaniwar Wada in Pune housed a Mastani Mahal with an external doorway called Mastani Darwaza. Later, Bajirao is said to have moved her residence to where Karve Road owing to his family’s hostility. You can still check out some remains of this palace at the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.

Jodhabai and Akbar; Jodhabai Palace, Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar PradeshWhile Ashutosh Gowarikar’s period drama about moghul emperor Akbar and his Rajput queen led us to believe that Jodhabai, or Harkha Bai, was his only wife, historians refute this. Stories however do say that she was his favourite queen and the liberal king was most accomodating of many of her wishes including the fact that she remained a practising Hindu post her marriage. Jodhabai’s son Jehangir took over the throne after his father Akbar and she was given the title Mariam Uz Zamani – Persian for Mary of the age. Jodhaibai’s red sandstone palace at Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh is the largest part of the zenana (ladies section/harem) and features a mix of Moghul and Rajput motifs on its walls, columns and arches.

Prithviraj Chauhan and Sanyogita; Qila Rai Pithora, Delhi

Qila Rai Pithora, Delhi. Photo: Print Collector/ Getty Images

While there are many versions of this story, the popular one states that Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan and Sanyogita fell in love after seeing portraits of each other. Sanyogita’s father, the king of Kannauj, Jayachand, however opposed this match and organised a Swayamvar for her. He also installed a statue of Prithviraj at the door, mocking him as a doorman. Not the one to back down, Sanyogita garlanded the statute. With that, Prithviraj sprang out of a corner where he was hiding and whisked his new wife away on a horse, Jayachand’s army in hot pursuit. Qila Rai Pithora in Delhi built by Prithviraj Chauhan still stands testimony to this fable of his valour. Remains of the fort walls are scattered across South Delhi, Saket, Mehrauli around Qutb complex, Kishangarh and Vasant Kunj areas.

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz; Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Taj Mahal. Photo: Frank Bienewald/Getty Images

Considered as the ultimate tribute of love, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. She bore her husband 14 children and died at the age of 37, during childbirth. Despite the controversies it has recently been caught in, the UNESCO World Heritage Site continues to draw large crowds from all over the world. While Shah Jahan had three other wives, court chronicles suggest that those marriages were more political. Mumtaz was considered his one true love, and her death took its toll on the king’s health.

Salim and Anarkali; Jehangir Mahal, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

Jehangir Mahal, Orchha. Photo: Mark Andrew Kirby/ Getty Images

Never mind the blockbuster Bollywood saga Mughal-e-Azam, Anarkali, like Padmavati, is a work of fiction. The story of Emperor Jehangir’s love for a slave girl that inspired his revolt against his father has captured popular imagination. Local guides at Orchha will tell you that the king of the region had sheltered Jehangir during the rebellion. After Jehangir became king, the Mahal was built in his honour, as he was to visit Orchha again. Jehangir however, stopped by only for a day.

Man Singh, who had eight Rajput queens, once went out to the jungle to hunt. There he saw a beautiful tribal girl from the Gujar community wrest away two bulls locked in a fight. Stunned by her beauty and strength, Man Singh proposed marriage. Mrignayani laid down three conditions before the smitten king. The first was that she would never follow the custom of purdah. The second was that she would accompany the king wherever he went, including into battle, and the third was that thewater from her village, which was the secret of her strength and beauty, be brought to her at her palace.While Man Singh’s other eight wives lived in the Man Mandir Palace, Mrignayanee lived separately in Gujari Mahal. The Gwalior fort too has a palace dedicated to the Gujar queen.

Raja Indrajeet and Rai Praveen; Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

Orchha Palace interiors. Photo: Atid Kiattisaksiri/ Getty Images

The Rai Praveen Mahal at Orchha fort tells the tale of a beautiful poetess and dancer in the time of Raja Indrajit. When emperor Akbar heard of her beauty and talent he summoned her to Agra, to add to his list of wives. But Akbar was so impressed by her love for Raja Indrajit, that he sent her back to Orchha. Today, the palace has a beautiful underground bathing room, complete with a water tank and fountains.

This one is straight out the storybooks and has a happy ending too. The debonaire Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Man Singh II and his stunning third wife, Maharani Gayatri Devi wowed the world with their charm. She was twelve when she fell in love with him in Kolkata where he was playing polo. In her autobiography, A Princess Remembers, Gayatri Devi writes about their long drives, dinner dates and the time she spent daydreaming about her prince. Their erstwhile home, the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur is now a hotel featuring suites named after the glorious couple, with enough memorabilia to take you down the memory lane.

Now Playing: From Pakistan to India: the journey of a lifetime

It's a border that takes barely a few minutes to cross, but has kept people apart for decades. Fatima Bhutto crosses the Wagah check-post to travel from Lahore to Amritsar but finds herself wondering if she has left home at all.